Volkswagen Eos, when elegance is pure form

“The ideal combination for reflecting the intrinsic value of the VW brand: emotiveness and function at an affordable price. Bringing the dream car within the reach of everyone.” That’s the way Murat Günak, design chief of the Volkswagen Group, speaks about the Eos cabriolet presented, again in concept form, at the last Frankfurt Show.

The roof line with the car closed is streamlined, the tail muscular, the general appearance prestigious. But when the roof folds away into the boot, the Eos shows that it was also designed as a cabrio. “The challenge,” says Günak, “was that many other cars already have a similar configuration. We wanted to go further, translating the concept of elegance into form, with great attention paid to proportions, creating a pure, fun shape with no frills, modelled freehand and not dictated by mathematical surfaces.”

The effort to give shape to elegance continues in our attention to the interior. The cockpit and the door and inner panel trim, for example, respond in Günak’s opinion to the need to “create more warmth” with the use – already adopted at VW on the Passat – of lighter materials and colours, with fewer greys and blacks. “This is very important for us, it is our new direction.” But the roof has always been the centre of attention, ever since Günak picked up his pencil to create this cabriolet two and a half years ago. “We knew,” he states, “that we were going up against some very stiff competition in this segment. But at the same time we didn’t want to compromise. We had to find a roof that would, on the one hand, guarantee four comfortable seats and, on the other, permit a silhouette in keeping with our ambitions for elegance. And without forgetting costs.”